Christian: we are not promised worldly success by our own definition
Mar 15, 2023 05:24:52 #
Christian: we are promised worldly success by God's definition, not our own.
"If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." [Jesus Christ, John 15:19]
God's will is for everyone to obey His Word. This was His will from the beginning.
His perfect will was made known to Adam and Eve in everything; He gave them one "don't."
There is no short circuit into the mind of God, nor any earthly route that successfully bypasses Him.
All through written Scripture He tells us what to do and what not to do. He tells us how to live.
Six months of effort may lead up to several 45-minute interviews, for young Christians who have been thoroughly indoctrinated to know what they want, rather than what God wants. After a few moments, their tongue-tied language may leave them without any one of a handful of jobs for which they have toiled and prepped, creating great frustration.
“God must have something better in store for you” is a common phrase tossed around, often followed by “there must be an even better job for you waiting in the spring.” If God has something better in store for them, it must mean an even better job in the eyes of their family, their friends, their peers.
The thought has become less the exception than the rule, finding its way into casual conversations where material benefit is more a guaranteed part of the abundance of life than anything else Jesus could bring. A friend recently told me of a sermon he listened to on the cultural benefits of being a Christian. Jesus died on the cross so that we could get … academic success, financial security, worldly acclaim? Death, resurrection and a three-hour Intro to Personal Realization becomes interchangeable at that point.
We are treading through dangerous waters. Wedged somewhere in between our American ideals of profitable capitalism, material ease, and man's own imagination of a religious heritage of holiness, some, as Christians, have slowly misinterpreted the promises of God to mean promises for earthly measures.
God does have our best interests at heart. Paul tells the Romans that “all things work together for the good of those who love him (8:32),” and Jeremiah details to the Israelites suffering through years of captivity a promise for “plans to prosper you, not to harm you, and plans to give you a hope and a future (29:11).” It’s nearly impossible for those who grow up in today's church to not have verses like these plastered over the walls of their Sunday School classroom.
But, evident in the rise of the “gospel of personal ambition,” we’ve taken promises of God's largess, removed them from their context and translated them to mean material success, social influence and financial security. If God truly plans to prosper us, it must be through His definition of prosperity and well-being.
Yet, both the “prosperity gospel,” and the subtle misapplications of Scripture's meaning could not be further from God's truth. It’s the poor who are blessed in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), and it’s the Lord in whom we are to delight (Psalms 37).
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he states our good is ensured, and continues on, citing not financial benefit or social power, but the prophet Isaiah, in saying “we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” That doesn’t sound like any kind of worldly success to the discerning. He continues, stating Jesus’ love makes us even “more than conquerors (Romans 8).” The Scriptures are flooded with these kind of juxtapositions – where one line promises hurt, suffering and pain, and the next paradoxically promises us abundance of life in the midst of impossible circumstances.
"And we know with great confidence that God who is deeply concerned about us causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose." (Romans 8:28)
God absolutely has something greater in mind for His people – something priceless, a relationship with His Son. Material blessings, social power, religious hierarchial influence – all things that aren’t inherently bad – are not promised to Christians. We’ve been tempted by the world's man-made systems to conclude that worldly success is a prerequisite for the promises of peace in Christ Jesus.
We might never achieve any kind of worldly success, be financially secure, have any social influence or anything else the world applauds as good. No, that would not be a contradiction to what Jesus has promised to his followers. If Paul, who was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, snake-bitten and penniless, teaches us anything, it’s that the rich abundance of following Jesus cannot be found in worldly definitions of success, but in His spiritual presence.
Christian, you aren’t promised material wealth or worldly recognition. You are, however, promised an eternal relationship that is worth infinitely more than anything you may stumble across that is made on this earth by human hands.
"If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." [Jesus Christ, John 15:19]
God's will is for everyone to obey His Word. This was His will from the beginning.
His perfect will was made known to Adam and Eve in everything; He gave them one "don't."
There is no short circuit into the mind of God, nor any earthly route that successfully bypasses Him.
All through written Scripture He tells us what to do and what not to do. He tells us how to live.
Six months of effort may lead up to several 45-minute interviews, for young Christians who have been thoroughly indoctrinated to know what they want, rather than what God wants. After a few moments, their tongue-tied language may leave them without any one of a handful of jobs for which they have toiled and prepped, creating great frustration.
“God must have something better in store for you” is a common phrase tossed around, often followed by “there must be an even better job for you waiting in the spring.” If God has something better in store for them, it must mean an even better job in the eyes of their family, their friends, their peers.
The thought has become less the exception than the rule, finding its way into casual conversations where material benefit is more a guaranteed part of the abundance of life than anything else Jesus could bring. A friend recently told me of a sermon he listened to on the cultural benefits of being a Christian. Jesus died on the cross so that we could get … academic success, financial security, worldly acclaim? Death, resurrection and a three-hour Intro to Personal Realization becomes interchangeable at that point.
We are treading through dangerous waters. Wedged somewhere in between our American ideals of profitable capitalism, material ease, and man's own imagination of a religious heritage of holiness, some, as Christians, have slowly misinterpreted the promises of God to mean promises for earthly measures.
God does have our best interests at heart. Paul tells the Romans that “all things work together for the good of those who love him (8:32),” and Jeremiah details to the Israelites suffering through years of captivity a promise for “plans to prosper you, not to harm you, and plans to give you a hope and a future (29:11).” It’s nearly impossible for those who grow up in today's church to not have verses like these plastered over the walls of their Sunday School classroom.
But, evident in the rise of the “gospel of personal ambition,” we’ve taken promises of God's largess, removed them from their context and translated them to mean material success, social influence and financial security. If God truly plans to prosper us, it must be through His definition of prosperity and well-being.
Yet, both the “prosperity gospel,” and the subtle misapplications of Scripture's meaning could not be further from God's truth. It’s the poor who are blessed in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), and it’s the Lord in whom we are to delight (Psalms 37).
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he states our good is ensured, and continues on, citing not financial benefit or social power, but the prophet Isaiah, in saying “we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” That doesn’t sound like any kind of worldly success to the discerning. He continues, stating Jesus’ love makes us even “more than conquerors (Romans 8).” The Scriptures are flooded with these kind of juxtapositions – where one line promises hurt, suffering and pain, and the next paradoxically promises us abundance of life in the midst of impossible circumstances.
"And we know with great confidence that God who is deeply concerned about us causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose." (Romans 8:28)
God absolutely has something greater in mind for His people – something priceless, a relationship with His Son. Material blessings, social power, religious hierarchial influence – all things that aren’t inherently bad – are not promised to Christians. We’ve been tempted by the world's man-made systems to conclude that worldly success is a prerequisite for the promises of peace in Christ Jesus.
We might never achieve any kind of worldly success, be financially secure, have any social influence or anything else the world applauds as good. No, that would not be a contradiction to what Jesus has promised to his followers. If Paul, who was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, snake-bitten and penniless, teaches us anything, it’s that the rich abundance of following Jesus cannot be found in worldly definitions of success, but in His spiritual presence.
Christian, you aren’t promised material wealth or worldly recognition. You are, however, promised an eternal relationship that is worth infinitely more than anything you may stumble across that is made on this earth by human hands.
Mar 15, 2023 07:58:17 #
Zemirah wrote:
b Christian: we are promised worldly success by G... (show quote)
Great article and reminder thank you!
Reminds me of a devotional I revisit from time to time -
Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. — Philippians 2:17
Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful — to pour out your life blood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say — “I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, ‘Well done.’ “
It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people’s feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased” — are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket — to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.
From utmost.org. Oswald Chambers
Mar 15, 2023 14:13:29 #
That is excellent, Rose.
Our dignity as a Christian totally rests in Christ Jesus, who is above all that exists, exalted in heaven, and so will He be upon this earth.
Our value and worth will be measured only by heaven's standards, for this earth lacks the spiritual depth and wisdom to comprehend that which is immaterial.
Our dignity as a Christian totally rests in Christ Jesus, who is above all that exists, exalted in heaven, and so will He be upon this earth.
Our value and worth will be measured only by heaven's standards, for this earth lacks the spiritual depth and wisdom to comprehend that which is immaterial.
Rose42 wrote:
Great article and reminder thank you! img src="h... (show quote)
Mar 16, 2023 07:50:01 #
Mar 16, 2023 09:21:03 #
guzzimaestro wrote:
Good
Thank you, guzzimaestro,
for understanding that the time has escaped us for "Don't worry, be happy" messages,
God, however, is still on His throne, and He is not through with His waiting creation.
Mar 16, 2023 09:53:49 #
Zemirah wrote:
That is excellent, Rose.
Our dignity as a Christian totally rests in Christ Jesus, who is above all that exists, exalted in heaven, and so will He be upon this earth.
Our value and worth will be measured only by heaven's standards, for this earth lacks the spiritual depth and wisdom to comprehend that which is immaterial.
Our dignity as a Christian totally rests in Christ Jesus, who is above all that exists, exalted in heaven, and so will He be upon this earth.
Our value and worth will be measured only by heaven's standards, for this earth lacks the spiritual depth and wisdom to comprehend that which is immaterial.
Sometimes we lack that wisdom too. The older I get the more I hate sin
Mar 16, 2023 10:50:25 #
Zemirah wrote:
Thank you, guzzimaestro,
for understanding that the time has escaped us for "Don't worry, be happy" messages,
God, however, is still on His throne, and He is not through with His waiting creation.
for understanding that the time has escaped us for "Don't worry, be happy" messages,
God, however, is still on His throne, and He is not through with His waiting creation.
It is said that good will triumph over evil. I have to believe that or there is no hope.🙏✝️
Mar 18, 2023 09:28:10 #
guzzimaestro wrote:
It is said that good will triumph over evil. I have to believe that or there is no hope.🙏✝️
Psalm 33:20-22 "We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.
In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone."
Mar 20, 2023 18:37:18 #
Galatians 5:13
For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Mar 21, 2023 15:05:52 #
Marty 2020 wrote:
Galatians 5:13
For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
In this age of lies, deceit, and deception, we serve each other best by (Ephesian 4:15) "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ."
Mar 21, 2023 15:15:46 #
Zemirah wrote:
👍👍👍In this age of lies, deceit, and deception, we serve each other best by (Ephesian 4:15) "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ."
Mar 21, 2023 15:29:24 #
Marty 2020 wrote:
👍👍👍
Having spent a lifetime acquiring the full armor of God, we are now sojourning in a land/world where speaking the truth in love is 105% guaranteed to offend the sensibilities of family, neighbors, the sanctimonious-"religious" in our pews, and the internet's self righteous:
Time to suit up, and test that armor, Marty!
Ephesians 6:10-18 - The Whole Armor of God
10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Mar 21, 2023 22:11:56 #
Zemirah wrote:
Having spent a lifetime acquiring the full armor o... (show quote)
My sword is a little bit dull but the rest of it is top shelf!
Mar 23, 2023 15:15:30 #
Zemirah wrote:
Having spent a lifetime acquiring the full armor o... (show quote)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
Mar 24, 2023 13:50:45 #
Parky60 wrote:
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
Thank you, Parky, for reaffirming Jesus' "Great Commission," - the lifetime assignment of all believers!
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